Page:William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England (3rd ed, 1768, vol II).djvu/244

 230 fiction of law; ince it is only upon a like uppoition and fiction, that brethren of purchaors (whether of the whole or half blood) are entitled to inherit at all: for we have een that in feudis tricte novis neither brethren nor any other collaterals were admitted. As therefore in feudis antiquis we have een the reaonablenes of excluding the half blood, if by a fiction of law a feudum novum be made decendible to collaterals as if it was feudum antiquum, it is jut and equitable that it hould be ubject to the ame retrictions as well as the ame latitude of decent.

by this time the excluion of the half blood does not appear altogether o unreaonable, as at firt ight it is apt to do. It is certainly a very fine-pun and ubtile nicety: but, conidering the principles upon which our law is founded, it is neither an injutice nor a hardhip; ince even the ucceion of the whole blood was originally a beneficial indulgence, rather than the trict right of collaterals: and, though that indulgence is not extended to the demi-kindred, yet they are rarely abridged of any right which they could poibly have enjoyed before. The doctrine of whole blood was calculated to upply the frequent impoibility of proving a decent from the firt purchaor, without ome proof of which (according to our fundamental maxim) there can be no inheritance allowed of. And this purpoe it anwers, for the mot part, effectually enough. I peak with thee retrictions, becaue it does not, neither can any other method, anwer this purpoe entirely. For though all the ancetors of John Stiles, above the common tock, are alo the ancetors of his collateral kinman of the whole blood; yet, unles that common tock be in the firt degree, (that is, unles they have the ame father and mother) there will be intermediate ancetors below the common tock, that may belong to either of them repectively, from which the other is not decended, and therefore can have none of their blood. Thus, though John Stiles and his brother of the whole blood can each have no other ancetors, than what are in common to them both; yet with regard to his uncle, where the common tock is removed one degree higher, (that is, Rh